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Welcome to 1100 Pennsylvania, a newsletter devoted to President Donald Trump’s Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C. (and his other companies). President Trump, of course, still owns his businesses and can profit from them.

If you like what you see, tell someone—and support this work by paying for a subscription. If you’ve been forwarded this newsletter, subscribe for yourself at zacheverson.substack.com.Questions? Read our FAQ/manifesto.Tips or feedback? Contact me, Zach Everson, securely via email at 1100Pennsylvania@protonmail.com or on Signal at 202.804.2744.

T-Mobile execs book Trump's hotel: Thoughts on and reactions to today’s Post scoop

From “T-Mobile announced a merger needing Trump administration approval. The next day, 9 executives had reservations at Trump’s hotel.” By Jonathan O'Connell and David A. Fahrenthold for The Washington Post:

Last April, telecom giant T-Mobile announced a megadeal: a $26 billion merger with rival Sprint, which would more than double T-Mobile’s value and give it a huge new chunk of the cellphone market.

But for T-Mobile, one hurdle remained: Its deal needed approval from the Trump administration.

The next day, in Washington, staffers at the Trump International Hotel were handed a list of incoming “VIP Arrivals.” That day’s list included nine of T-Mobile’s top executives — including its chief operating officer, chief technology officer, chief strategy officer, chief financial officer and its outspoken celebrity chief executive, John Legere…Legere appears to have made at least four visits to the Trump hotel, walking the lobby in his T-Mobile gear.

Some thoughts and observations:

1. Here’s Legere at the hotel the day after T-Mobile and Sprint announced their merger

After chatting with Lewandowski, Legere walked over to the hotel’s elevators, which required a room key to use. So it seems likely he was not just hanging out at the hotel’s lobby bar, but rather was staying there again too.

The VIP Arrivals lists obtained by The Post — in which Trump hotel executives alerted their staff to foreign officials, corporate executives, long-term guests, Trump family friends and big spenders—provide an inside look at some of the hotel’s customers. The Post obtained lists for about a dozen days in 2018.

6. The Trump Hotel D.C. researches its guests before they arrive

Regarding the hotel’s use of a VIP arrivals list, when I checked into the Trump Hotel D.C. in April 2017, within moments of reaching the desk, two senior managers greeted me, offering business cards. It was a welcome that made it clear to me that the hotel knew I was a journalist, possibly on assignment (I was!).

The hotel’s managing director, Mickael Damelincourt, later explained that the hotel’s attaché department researches each day’s arrivals in advance (including looking at their social media accounts), to help ensure guests have a comfortable stay. Not said by Damelincourt, but probably also true: the hotel wants to know how to manage its guests for its own purposes too. (Which explains that complimentary glass of Veuve Clicquot I was poured.)

7. That hotel staffers are leaking to The Post may explain this tweet from the hotel’s managing director

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) dismissed a Daily Beast report about Special Counsel Robert Mueller looking into a 2017 meeting he attended along with former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and foreign officials as a “fake news story” on Tuesday. “It’s always another day, they do another fake news story. I don’t even know what they’re talking about,” Nunes told Fox & Friends. “The fact that I’m holding meetings with ambassadors—you can have at it, because I do it every day,” he said.

Individual capacity—On Dec. 14, Trump’s personal attorneys appealed the denial of their motion to dismiss the case, also to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On Dec. 19, the AGs replied to Trump’s motion for a stay pending that appeal by voluntarily dismissing the claims against Trump in his “individual capacity to allow the claims against President Trump in his official capacity to move forward expeditiously.” (The AGs only brought suit against Trump in his individual capacity after the judge suggested they do so.) Trump’s personal attorneys, on Dec. 21, opposed the motion to dismiss at the district level, saying the appeals court now has jurisdiction and accusing the AGs of “gamesmanship.”

Other Trump Organization news

One thing that has nothing to do with Trump’s businesses (I think, tough to tell sometimes!)

Thanks for reading. If you like what you saw, tell someone—and support this work by paying for a subscription. If you’ve been forwarded this newsletter, subscribe for yourself at zacheverson.substack.com.Questions? Read our FAQ/manifesto.Tips or feedback? Contact me, Zach Everson, securely via email at 1100Pennsylvania@protonmail.com or on Signal at 202.804.2744.